In 2013, Americans spend more for healthcare than anyone has since the invention of money. Yet our healthcare outcomes are distinctly second-class. In only one demographic does Americans' health approach that of other developed-world nations--those over 65yrs of age. Forget the magic-of-the-marketplace rhetoric. It's when Medicare kicks in that Americans--on average--finally get first-rate medical care.

So it is a more than a little perverse that when Mr. Brooks looks to fix our budget deficit, his first target is Medicare. But then his first target is Medicare whatever the subject. In medicine, we call one who proffers the same "cure" regardless of your symptoms a "quack". In healthcare, we call him a "Republican hack".